If you are a "fee earner" working in Professional services it is likely that you are an expert in whichever field you specialise in.  Your clients pay you a fee for that expertise.  It is also likely that you are very busy.   But what would it mean if you could turn yourself from being just another "busy expert" like so many of your peers into a "Recognised Thought-Leader?"

We were going to one of our first ever trade shows (remember those!) with Passle a number of years ago and we needed a slogan to put across the top of our new event stand.  We opted for the words:

"Turn your busy experts into recognised Thought-Leaders"

We got so much intrigue that day from lawyers and law firm marketeers at the event asking "how do you do that" or telling us "that's exactly what we are struggling to do" and then the Passle sales team jumped into action.  But the words have really stood the test of time and we still use them today.

Being a "Recognised Thought-Leader" is not just a vanity project or a nice to have.  It can help deliver to the bottom line by bringing in new business, retaining existing clients and indeed it gives the ability to command a higher hourly rate as one of the go-to experts in your field.

I was very fortunate to have recently shared the virtual stage at the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) of America's annual conference with the brilliant Linda Orton, Chief Marketing Officer of Alvarez & Marsal and one of the very very best around.  Linda talked about some of the experts at Alvarez & Marsal who have consistently created expert insights demonstrating their expertise and over time being seen as Thought Leaders to their target audience.  In one example, seen in the video clip below, Linda talks about how one of the Directors at the firm has brought in new business of $8 Million from just one client after establishing themselves as a Recognised Thought-Leader.

When Professional Services marketeers can start to measure their activities by demonstrating the value to the bottom line then they really can start to make a real difference to their firms and more importantly, demonstrate the difference they are making.

You can watch the full session with Linda on how to build a winning thought-leadership strategy here.